miércoles, 3 de septiembre de 2008

"I did not want to run people's lives, I did not want to run the economy and I did not want to run the world. I didn't have the authority to do it, and I didn't have the Constitution behind me to do it," said Paul, who has served in the House of Representatives for more than 30 years.

-----------

Paul blasted the government for what he considered overstepping its boundaries in many areas, including foreign policy, education and taxation.

-----------

He also pointed out that "not one single taxpayer's cent" was spent on the day-long rally.

-----------

The rally marked the official start of Paul's political action group, the Campaign for Liberty.

-----------

Paul is a strict constitutionalist who believes in traditional Republican principles like small government, low taxes and a free-market approach to the economy. But he was the only Republican candidate who voted against the war in Iraq.

-----------

An energetic group joined in as musician Aimee Allen pumped her fists while singing, "Ron Paul. Start a revolution and break down illegal institutions!"

Former Minnesota Gov. and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura received wild applause as he ranted against both Democrats and Republicans and hinted at his own White House run.

"I am not a Democrat, and I am not a Republican, and I say that very proudly today, because I think these to parties are destroying our country," he said.

Ventura pushed personal responsibility, saying it's up to Americans to hold leaders and the media to higher standards.

------------

The rally included appearances from NBC's Tucker Carlson, anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson.

Rally-goer Carrie Duffield said she attended because she is "dedicated to bringing the GOP back to its traditional, conservative roots of low taxes, low spending, national sovereignty, sound money and a non-interventionalist foreign policy."

------------

Paul said he wanted his rally to be a positive event that focused on the issues he thinks other Republicans ignore: "the spending problems, the deficit, our foreign policy, our national defense, our monetary policy."

"We're Republicans. We believe in limited government and personal liberties. We ought to be talking about these things," he said.